fecal matter, together with chamber, kitchen, and other slops, is sent 

 into the sewers, where there are any ; where there are none, and 

 where there are available street gutters, it is sent along them to 

 the nearest watercourse or sewer, and these gutters are periodically- 

 swept out ; where there are neither sewers nor available gutters this 

 sewage is thrown upon the ground to find its way as it best can to 

 some natural outlet. The house sweepings,, ashes, and dry refuse of a 

 Mnall part of the city are removed by the scavengering department, 

 but in the greater part of Hobaat the occupiers have to make their 

 own arrangements for disposing of them, and the usual arrangement 

 made in the smaller class of houses is to throw them into the streets 

 or lanes, or leave them in the back yards. I do not intend in this 

 paper to allude any further to the subject of the removal of dry refuse, 

 as the sewage question by itself is quite important enough to occupy 

 our attention to-night. 



_ It will be remarked that, as nearly all the sewers and gutters run 

 into the various watercourses flowing through the city, the water- 

 courses themselves virtually become common sewers, taking into 

 the Derwent part of the solid and the whole of the liquid fascal matter 

 and house slops. We all know the resulting condition of things. To 

 remedy it, my report recommends that all house sewage be kept out 

 of the gutters and watercourses, and taken by underground sewers 

 discharging into the tideway of the estuary at points where, by 

 using proper precautions, it will not find its way into Sullivan's Cove, 

 or Sandy Bay. No plan of sewage treatment is at present proposed, 

 but the outfall sewers are so arranged as to admit of the construction 

 of depositing tanks and other works, should such at any time hereafter 

 be found desirable. 



Various problems had to be solved before any complete system could 

 be properly formulated. In the solutions herein proposed it will be 

 lound that the greatest efficiency is invariably accompanied by the 

 greatest economy. 



Thus, take the question of the getting rid of house slops, and ask— 

 Which is the better plan, to convey them away by surface cutters, 

 or by underground drains? To answer this, some general and 

 some local conditions have to be taken into account. Surface gutters 

 can only run a certain distance along the streets, and then, if there be 

 no watercourse, their sewage must be taken to one by means of a 

 sewer of some description. As it is impossible to prevent the admix- 

 ture of chamber slops with those of the kitchen and wash-house, house 

 slops rapidly become offensive when exposed to sun and air, so the 

 gutters must be well made and frequently and thoroughly cleansed. 

 J- nose are conditions absolutely indispensable to the efficiency of any 

 system of surface drainage. Bat this system cannot be applied to the 

 Whole of the city, the conformation of the ground, as will presently 

 »« described, preventing it. However, to apply it to those parts where 

 w is practicable, it would be necessary to provide proper gutters 

 "> all streets that have none, and to improve the faulty pebble- 

 Paved gutters of many other streets, and connect all with the 

 watercourses. These works would cost at least £12,000. Moreover, 

 as above mentioned, the conformation of the ground in very many 

 of S prevents the houses from being drained into the gutters in front 

 w them, as on sideling streets the kitchens and offices are often a 

 wry lower than the front entrances. In such cases the drainage 

 ust be taken away, in a surface system, by proper open gutters at the 

 ha V aa u lf tlle sewa 8 e f rom them in order to get to a watercourse, 

 as to be taken through other properties, underground drains would 

 ave to be constructed through these other properties. The cost of 

 ' works would be at least £8,000, making the total cost 



these 



